Bywaters Highly Commended at 2019 Planet Mark Awards

In addition to achieving Planet Mark accreditation for the sixth year in a row, Bywaters was nominated for three different Planet Mark Awards at a ceremony held at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on the 17th October.

Bywaters Nominated for Three Different Awards

In recognition of the hard work that Bywaters put into enhancing our sustainability throughout 2018, we were delighted to be nominated for three separate awards by the Planet Mark judges: Best Company, Community Engagement, and Carbon Reduction Per Employee.

Being nominated for the Best Company and Community Engagement awards was very humbling, and resulted from a variety of initiatives we put in place throughout the year. Throughout 2018 we organised 25 beach cleans, made numerous improvements to our solar-powered facilities in order to increase recycling efficiency, and dedicated oursleves to reducing plastic usage and turning the tide on ocean plastic pollution.

While we unfortunately did not win either of these awards, being finalists for both categories gives Bywaters a great platform from which to build, especially after being named Plastic Recycling Business of the Year at the 2019 Awards for Excellence. We also still did get to be part of the action as proud sponsors of the Personal Achievement category, which Bywaters’ own Siân Glover presented on the night.

Highly Commended for Carbon Reduction Per Employee

As a company on a mission to offer the UK’s most sustainable waste management services, Bywaters is committed to reducing our carbon emissions every year in order to minimise our environmental impact of our recycling operations.

Across the 2018 reporting year, we more than exceeded our targets for carbon reduction, with a 12.1% reduction in overall emissions, and a staggering 24.1% reduction in carbon per employee. To recognise this achievement, we were thrilled to be highly commended by Planet Mark in the Carbon Emissions Per Employee category.

Our Sixth Year Holding the Planet Mark

The Planet Mark isn’t just an annual awards ceremony, it’s an environmental accreditation that ensures its members commit to continuous sustainability improvements – with a strong focus put on measuring performance in order to devise achievable targets each year in terms of emissions reduction. Much like the services we offer our clients through our Green Guru audits, this helps ensure that progress is constantly being made on reducing carbon emissions.

Bywaters has now held the Planet Mark for six years, originally signing up to the scheme in 2013. This has helped drive us to work constantly to be more environmentally sustainable. From installing 4,000 solar panels on the roof of our flagship facility, to introducing new dedicated services such as coffee cup and coffee grounds recycling, our focus is always on preserving the environment.

Time to Act

It was fantastic to be a part of this year’s Planet Mark awards, and the clear message that all attendees walked away with was that it’s time to redouble our efforts and aim for increasingly ambitious sustainability targets going into the future. The coming decade is likely to be a defining period for our species, as protecting and preserving the planet moves to the font of the global agenda and humanity stands up to climate change.

Bywaters will keep fighting to lead the UK to a sustainable future, and the great work done by all Planet Mark award nominees and winners will continue to inspire us every day to be the best that we can be.